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Yecheng, this is the second capital established by Cao Cao. After returning to the Central Plains due to the defeat of Chibi, Cao Cao stayed in Xuchang in order to provoke the fight between Sun and Liu.

As the Yuan family remnants retreated to Liaodong, Zhang Liao and Cao Chun pacified Youzhou, and Hebei returned to peace. In the month, Cao Cao returned to Yedu again, rewarded the troops who pacified Hebei, and added a title to commend Zhang Liao and Cao Chun's merits.

Just in the month, the former general, Ma Teng, the former general, led his nephew and five thousand cavalry to the court to participate in the sacrifice of his ancestor Ma Yuan, but was detained by Cao Cao in Yecheng.

Cao Cao submitted a letter to Ma Teng as the Weiwei, Ma Chao as the general, instead of Ma Teng, leading the army, stationed in place, and named Ma Xiu as the commander of the chariot and Ma Tie as the commander of the cavalry. The rest of the family members were moved to Yecheng.

At this point, among the four strategies Xun You offered, except for Jiangxia Ce and Cao Cao did not adopt them, the other Hebei Ce, Xiliang Ce and Jiangdong Ce were all successful, which gradually calmed down the chaotic situation.

In late April, the confrontation between Jiangxia and Jiangdong in Chaisang was over, and Yecheng also entered late spring. The trees changed from tender green to green, and the green apricots on the branches also grew to the size of thumb. The sun was still abundant, but it was not as bright and warm as the moonlight, but it was a little more dry and hot, and the air was no longer cool, and there was already a hint of early summer.

For Yecheng, the defeat of Red Cliff is no longer discussed. Although it has only been less than half a year, it seems that it has happened many years ago and not many people care about it. Everyone seems to be tired of war and hegemony. Taverns and brothels are talking about various official scandals, as well as marriages between officials, and women are involved. This is the eternal topic.

In a tavern at the entrance of Dongwangwu Lane in Yecheng, there were not many guests, and half of the seats were empty. In a corner by the window, Li Fu was drinking alone.

He did not go to Liaodong. Due to internal strife in the Yuan army, Yan Rou of Youzhou seized power and lost power in his pro-Jingzhou faction. Yan Rou wanted to execute Li Fu. With Guo Song's secret help, Li Fu escaped from Ji County and returned to Yecheng.

He received the order from Liu Jing, asking him to stay in Yecheng for a while and prepare to meet with Liu Min. Although Liu Jing did not blame Li Fu for his poor performance in Liaodong, Li Fu was in a bad mood and kept complaining and blaming himself.

When everyone was discussing whether to accept Yan Rou of Youzhou, he expressed his approval. It was his approval that led to the Yuan army's final decision to use Youzhou as its foundation, which also led to the final internal strife.

If he had opposed going to Youzhou at that time, then Yuan's army would have swept across Hebei with Hejian County as its foundation. It was his thought that the Yuan family's revival failed. Li Fu complained about this and spent more than a month drinking wine in taverns and brothels to drown his sorrows and indulge in the mood.

When Li Fu was about to lift the pot and pour the wine, he pressed his pot with one hand, "You have drunk too much."

The voice was very familiar. Li Fu raised his head. In front of him was a man of medium shape, wearing a white coarse cloth robe, leather belt, a long sword, and a dust-proof hat. This was a typical ranger's outfit. He was dark in skin and bright and sharp in his eyes. Li Fu looked closely and was shocked and screamed, "Why is it you?"

The person in front of him was his old partner Liu Min. The former white-faced scholar turned into a dusty gossip, which made him a little incredible. Liu Min smiled slightly and sat down opposite Li Fu. He poured a glass of wine for Li Fu and himself, and asked with a smile: "How long have Brother Xian been in Yecheng?"

"It's been one and a half months"

Li Fu sighed, and he suddenly realized, looked at Liu Min again, and asked in surprise: "Why are you so bad that you look like this?"

Liu Min smiled bitterly and said, "I have been in the north for four or five months, and my skin is a little darker and abnormal."

Li Fu laughed. For some reason, when he saw Liu Min, he seemed to see his relatives, and his sorrow was wiped out. He quickly pointed to the inside and said, "Go inside to talk."

Li Fu ordered the bartender to bring the wine and dishes into the inner room, ordered a few more dishes, and the two sat down. Li Fu then told Yuan Jun about the internal strife. Liu Min frowned slightly and said, "I heard that Yan Rou was killed by Zhang Liao. Yuan Jun has retreated to Liaodong. Why didn't Brother Xian follow him?"

Li Fu shook his head, "I received the order from the provincial governor to not go to Liaodong for the time being. In fact, I can understand the meaning of the provincial governor. Yuan Jun wanted to destroy the bridge across the river. Cao Cao would not let Yuan Jun go, and he would do it sooner or later. At that time, Yuan Jun would come to beg us, so there is no need to worry for the time being."

Li Fu sat upright again and asked curiously: "Tell me what happened to the Xiliang Army when he was on the mission."

Liu Min sighed, "Don't mention it, I went to see Ma Teng with confidence, but I didn't even let me in. I just said two words: I didn't see you in Xiliang for a few months, and I only saw Ma Chao, and I learned a little bit of the inside story."

Liu Min drank the wine in the glass and then said angrily: "Cao Cao has been planning Ma Teng for many years. He secretly supported Han Sui and Ma Teng's foul play. The two armies fought for many years. Cao Cao ordered Zhong Yao, who was guarding Chang'an, to be a good person to persuade him to make peace. He also blamed Ma Teng for being unrighteous. He actually agreed to Cao Cao's recruitment, went to Beijing as an official, and left Ma Chao to guard Liangzhou. He himself became a hostage. The plan of the governor of the state to use the Western Liang army to restrain Cao's army was also failed."

No wonder Liu Min was indignant. Ma Teng's territory was actually very large. In addition to Xiliang, his power had expanded eastward to Dasan Pass. Even Anding County and Guangwei County were Ma Teng's territory. The eight warlords in Longyou were mainly Ma Teng and had tens of thousands of armored cavalry.

Ma Teng's conditions were much better than Jingzhou, but Ma Teng did not have the courage of his lord and did not dare to challenge Cao Cao publicly. Even when Cao Cao led a large army to conquer Jingzhou in the south, the Central Plains were empty and civil strife occurred in Hebei. With such a good opportunity, Ma Teng did not dare to take the opportunity to raise an army, march into Guanzhong, and attack Yecheng.

Li Fu felt the dissatisfaction in Liu Min's heart, and asked with a smile: "Why did you come to Yecheng again?"

Liu Min finally had a smile on her face. He picked up the wine glass and said, "Although I failed to contact Ma Teng, I successfully contacted Ma Chao. Ma Teng refused to have a relationship with Jingzhou, but Ma Chao was very interested. There will be gains when there are any mistakes. Thinking about it now, Ma Teng's entry into Beijing may not be a bad thing."

Speaking of this, Liu Min lowered her voice and said, "This time I went to Beijing, I was actually entrusted by Ma Chao to see his father. Ma Chao hopes that Ma Teng can formally hand over the army to him."

"Didn't Ma Teng really hand over the army to her?" Li Fu asked in confusion.

Liu Min nodded, "Now Ma Chao is just leading the army on behalf of his father. Ma Teng has never officially announced the transfer of military power to his son, so some Longyou warlords did not buy it, and there were also several old military leaders who did not listen to Ma Chao's general order. Ma Chao's military power was constrained. Every time he mobilized the army, he needed to discuss with these old military leaders, which was very passive."

Li Fu sneered, "Look for an opportunity to discuss military information and slaughter these thorns. Wouldn't the problem be solved?"

"I also suggest this, but the Xiliang army is more aware of its status. These generals are self-reliant on the pretext of being loyal to Ma Teng and killing them without name. Therefore, Ma Chao needs his father to formally transfer military power, and then he can kill people with righteousness, and the soldiers below have nothing to say."

Li Fu nodded silently, which made sense. He asked again: "When will I go to Ma Teng Mansion?"

"I'll go now, we'll talk about it in detail tonight."

Li Fu's eyes rolled and he smiled and said, "You can't go like this. Cao Cao sent someone to closely monitor Ma Teng. I'll help you enter the mansion this time."

Although Cao Cao used a trick to trick Ma Teng into Yedu, he took good care of Ma Teng in terms of material resources. He not only rewarded Ma Teng the most famous house in Yecheng, but also gave more servants and maids and gave Ma Teng a large manor covering an area of ​​50 hectares outside the city, so that Ma Teng could enjoy all his wealth and food without thinking about the cold weather.

Ma Teng's beautiful house is located in the east of the city. It is a large mansion covering an acre of land. It once belonged to the Han Dynasty royal family. Among them, there are pavilions, towers, various exquisite buildings, and even a glance of clear spring water, forming a small lake with a radius of twenty acres. The scenery is quiet and beautiful.

It is this lake that makes this house recognized as the number one house in Yedu, second only to the Prime Minister's Mansion and Xun Yu's mansion. However, although the house is beautiful, it is not free to live. The open space outside the west gate of the mansion inexplicably forms a community gathering. People come and go every day, which is particularly lively. Of course Ma Teng knew that someone was monitoring his mansion.

Not only external surveillance, but even Cao Cao assigned him the other maids and servants in the mansion. Who knows how many surveillance people there are? Even Ma Teng is not at ease with his newly married concubine. He is suspicious all day long and has a kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Of course, Ma Teng also has people he absolutely trusts, that is his two sons, Ma Xiu, Ma Tie, and nephew Ma Dai, who are his only trusted confidants.

At noon, a team of knights rushed over at lightning. About twenty cavalry were thrilling, and the sound was rapid and stirring up rolling yellow dust. It was obvious that they were all for the powerful knights.

These knights were all wearing soap-colored servants' short suits. They were Ma Teng's farmhouse servants. In fact, they were Ma Teng's personal guards. This was the condition that Cao Cao agreed. Five thousand cavalrymen returned to Liangzhou and only retained their personal soldiers. They were usually stationed in the manor outside the city to serve as guardian soldiers, and were commanded by Ma Dai.

Although there are only people, they are the elite among the cavalry of the Western Liang army. They have strong combat power and can fight ten. Therefore, Cao Cao ordered that no more than twenty people should be allowed to enter the city every time.

He was about ten years old, with a serious expression, eight feet tall, and a very long arm. He used a fifty-pound goose-ling sword. This person was Ma Teng's nephew, Ma Dai, followed by him, wearing an octagonal hat and dressed like a tent housekeeper. He was of medium figure, dark skin and bright eyes, but he was Liu Min.

This is Li Fu's arrangement. Liu Min came directly to find Ma Teng and was targeted by the surveillance. He came to find Ma Teng through the manor Ma Dai, so that he would be much more hidden.

Everyone got off the horse outside the main gate, and a family came up to lead the horse. A housekeeper came up with a smile and asked, "Why is Mr. Dai here today?"

Ma Dai knew that this person was Cao Cao's eyeliner, so he asked coldly: "My uncle can be there."

"Of course, the master is here. I'm drinking in the backyard. Is there anything wrong with Mr. Dai looking for him?" the housekeeper asked with a smile.

Ma Dai glanced at him in disgust, and could only resist the displeasure in his heart and said, "I have found out the matter of the manor's account last time, so I'll come to my uncle to report the account."

"So that's the case. Then please wait for Mr. Dai, I'll report to the master." The housekeeper turned his eyes to Liu Min, looked at him deeply, and turned around.

Ma Dai turned around and whispered to Liu Min: "Follow me closely"

Ma Teng is about fifty years old this year. He is eight feet tall, has a big waist, a round waist, a mountain, a wide face and a high nose, and a deep gaze. His big beard makes him look particularly powerful. He traveled across Xiliang when he was young and laid a foundation. However, as he grew older, he no longer had the ambition when he was young and began to be greedy for beauty and enjoyment.

This time he actually knew that Cao Cao was luring him into the capital, but he was shaken and refused to win over Liu Jingjing. Under the persuasion of the envoy Zhang Ji, Zhong Yao sent an envoy to him and finally decided to accept Cao Cao's envoy and become an official in the capital.

He was in a high position, lived in a beautiful house and enjoyed the food of a beautiful maid. This kind of life made Ma Teng very satisfied, but Cao Cao's supervision over him at all times made him feel dissatisfied. He was in such a conflict.

At this time, Ma Teng was sitting in the pavilion by the lake and drank and had fun. He was surrounded by beautiful concubines, and more than a dozen maids were serving him. The beauty was as beautiful as jade, the wine was mellow, the scenery was like paintings, and the cool breeze made him feel relaxed and happy.

At this time, a maid reported at the door: "Your Majesty, Mr. Dai has come and said he will report the account to the master."

Dai Gong was Ma Teng's nephew Ma Dai. He followed Ma Teng into the capital. He was not appointed as an official, so Ma Teng asked him to manage the farm outside the city. In fact, Ma Teng's external attention and attention.
Chapter completed!