The scholar spoke at ease, neither hurried nor flustered.
Yet after hearing him out, Ma Chao sneered. He slapped the letter in his hand onto the table, pointed at him, and snapped, "You overstep!"
"His Majesty in Ye City is the true Son of Heaven. He is merely being held hostage by those two villains, Lü Bu and Yuan Xi. Since when did he become the Pretender Emperor you speak of?"
"Cao Mengde set up a false Son of Heaven, and now he actually dreams of drawing me in to serve that Pretender Emperor alongside him? What a fool's dream!"
Ma Chao rejected the scholar's proposal without mercy.
He also gave him a thorough tongue-lashing.
An alliance would certainly be a good thing, but the banner he had raised was that of purging the court of villains and eliminating treacherous ministers. Allying with Cao Cao would mean ruining his own reputation.
"You are mistaken, General!"
The scholar shook his head and said solemnly, "That so-called Son of Heaven in Ye City is merely a Pretender Emperor. The true Son of Heaven is now in Jing Province."
"Alas, the whole world has been deceived by that Pretender Emperor, allowing the Great Han's rightful succession to fall into other hands and leaving the true Son of Heaven in distress."
"As a descendant of the General Who Subdues the Waves, you ought to distinguish truth from falsehood. How could you believe that Pretender Emperor?"
Every word the scholar spoke was earnest and sincere.
Yet Ma Chao rose with fury written across his face. "You insolent madman! Your audacity knows no bounds! You dare utter such words, turning black into white!"
"If I did not make it a rule never to execute visiting emissaries, I would have your head today!"
"Guards! Throw him out!"