"Yes, General."
Pang De agreed.
After giving the instructions, Ma Chao looked at the Western Liang Army who was training in Drill Ground, and said with fiery eyes, "Now I have organized the troops and horses, and the logistics are fully prepared."
"After the spring of next year, I will lead the army to march eastward to attack the traitor Lü Bu and rescue Son of Heaven!"
Now that Western Liang Army has strong troops and horses, Ma Chao is no longer satisfied with hiding Chang'an. He wants to defeat Lü Bu and attack Ye City!
Then Son of Heaven of Ye City and Court Officials will have to look at his eyes to act? He can also imitate Cao Cao and use Son of Heaven to control the princes and plot for hegemony!
He Ma Family will prosper from now on!
Just when Ma Chao was imagining the glory after defeating Lü Bu, a Deputy General rode into Drill Ground and shouted from a distance, "General! There is good news!"
"What great news!"
Deputy General's words attracted Ma Chao's attention. He frowned and asked, "What's the good news?"
"Report to the general!"
Deputy General turned over and dismounted, and said with joy on his face, "The old general is back! Now he has entered Chang'an City!"
As soon as this statement came out, everyone present was shocked.
Ma Chao was even more stunned for a moment, and asked with some confusion, "Old general? Which old general?"
"That is your father, General Ma Teng!"
As soon as the words fell, Ma Chao's eyes widened instantly, and his face was full of Shock and disbelief.
His dad... is back?
After coming back to his senses, Ma Chao's eyes suddenly became sharp. He kicked Deputy General to the ground and yelled angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about!"
"My father was held hostage by the thieves Lü Bu and Yuan Xi. He is currently at Ye City. How could he return to Chang'an?!"
"Come here! Drag this nonsense guy out of here and slap him with thirty military sticks!"
Deputy General was shocked. He never expected that he came to announce the good news with great joy, but what he got was thirty military staffs.
In panic, he hurriedly knelt down and said, "General! Everything the general said is true, there is absolutely no falsehood at all!"
"Son of Heaven sent Envoy Delegation to Chang'an. The old general came back with Envoy Delegation. He is currently waiting in your Residence. The special envoy will report to the general here!"
"If you don't believe it, general, you'll find out when you go back home!"
After hearing these words, Ma Chao's face changed, and the surprise in his heart reached the extreme for a while.
How could Son of Heaven send Envoy Delegation here and let his father come back as well?
What is this intended to do?
Pang De also felt that the news was too shocking and even a bit unrealistic, but he also knew that Deputy General would definitely not dare to talk nonsense.
So after thinking for a moment, he said to Ma Chao, "General, it's better to go back to Residence first..."
"Shut up!"
Ma Chao was in a state of confusion at this time. Hearing this, he directly shouted and interrupted Pang De.
He is not thinking about whether the news is true or false.
Instead, I was thinking about the danger behind this matter.
He betrayed Imperial Court in vain before, regardless of the lives of his father and brothers. Now that his father is back, he will not let him go easily, Wicked Son.
At that time, the power of the Western Liang Army will also be taken back!
Thinking of this, Ma Chao instantly understood the plan of Ye City's Son of Heaven. The other party wanted to send his father to deal with him and let them fight between father and son!
"The Dog Emperor! He is really insidious!"
Ma Chao cursed secretly in his heart, then quickly adjusted his mood and said to Pang De, "There must be a conspiracy behind this matter!"
"Lingming, you are entrusting Military Camp with the entire army under martial law, and at the same time dispatch Qiang Cavalry Battalion to follow me back to Chang'an. Three Armies is not allowed to act rashly without my order!"
No matter what, Western Liang Army's military power must be firmly in his hands and cannot be taken away!
Qiang Cavalry Battalion is his Personal Guard camp, and the men and horses in the camp are all his trusted followers and only obey his orders.
Leading Qiang Cavalry Battalion back to the city, even if something happens, he can keep the news within the house without leaking anything.
Although Pang De felt that Ma Chao's reaction was a bit abnormal, he did not ask more questions out of trust and did as he was told.
Soon Ma Chao led a battalion of Cavalry to leave Western Liang Army Military Camp, enter Chang'an City, and go straight to General's Residence.
After arriving outside Residence.
Ma Chao ordered his subordinate Personal Guard to surround Residence from top to bottom, and then walked into Residence holding his sword and feeling anxious.
As soon as he entered Main Hall, he saw two familiar figures.
One person was Emissary Cui Lin who had been here before, Imperial Court; the other person was more familiar to him, it was his father Ma Teng whom he had not seen for a long time!
Ma Teng sat Seat of Honor with a cold expression and said nothing. Even when he saw Ma Chao walking into the Main Hall, he never took the initiative to speak.
It's like turning a blind eye.
Ma Chao Seeing that his father was really back, the last bit of luck in his heart was shattered, and he stepped forward to salute.
"My child Ma Chao, meet your father!"
Ma Chao knelt down obediently and kowtowed three times to Ma Teng. When he raised his head, his forehead was already red.
However, Ma Teng remains indifferent.
Just when Ma Chao was about to say something, a cup of tea fell directly on his head, and at the same time there was an angry curse.
"You Wicked Son! You still have the nerve to call me father!"
"Today I am going to get rid of a bad thing for my Ma Family!"
Ma Teng suddenly got angry, pulled out the riding crop fastened to his waist and hit Ma Chao hard. The crown of Ma Chao's hair was ripped off with one blow.
Ma Chao would have never imagined that his father would take action as soon as he came up. When tea was splashed in his face, he could only hold his head and evade in a hurry.
However, Ma Teng had no intention of letting him go so easily. He first whipped him seven or eight times, but still felt that it was not enough to relieve his anger, so he took advantage of the situation and drew his sword to kill Ma Chao.
Cui Lin, who should have intervened to break up the fight, was watching the show at the moment - he wished Ma Teng Impartiality in the Face of Family would kill Ma Chao, Imperial Court's biggest problem.
When Ma Chao heard the sound of drawing the sword, he rolled on the spot, causing Ma Teng to strike the ground with his sword, causing sparks to burst out.
"This old man really wants to kill me!"
Seeing this, Ma Chao was shocked and angry. He stood up from the ground and also pulled out Sword from his waist to block another attack from Ma Teng.
Ma Teng's anger was still lingering, and when he saw this, he smiled and said, "You Wicked Son! Now you dare to draw a sword against your father!"
"Are you thinking about Patricide!"
Ma Chao said coldly, "The ancients said that a small stick will hold you back, but a big stick will go away. Now that the father wants to kill the child, the child will have to wait to die!"
"Besides, the child and his father have not seen each other for a long time, and the father will draw his sword and kill the child as soon as he meets him. Why is this?!"
Although he knew the reason behind Ma Teng's attack, he definitely couldn't admit it, and he still had to keep his mouth strong.
"Why?"
Ma Teng laughed angrily at these words, pointed at Ma Chao's nose and cursed, "Your brothers and I went to Ye City to serve Son of Heaven, but you, Wicked Son, colluded with Yuan Shao Remnants and plotted rebellion!"
"If I don't kill you today, how can I have the face to meet Ancestors of the Ma Family, and what shame can I have to meet Your Majesty!"
"Hey! Wicked Son Look at the sword!"
Ma Teng shouted loudly and continued to attack with his sword.
Seeing this, Ma Chao no longer held back. He was superb in martial arts and in his prime, far beyond the comparison of Ma Teng. He knocked Sword in Ma Teng's hand to the ground in a few strokes, and placed the sword across the latter's neck.
"Wicked Son! How dare you Patricide?!"
Ma Teng was not afraid, but took a step forward to face Ma Chao and asked aggressively.
A trace of annoyance flashed in Ma Chao's eyes, but he finally took Sword back, took a step back and said with his hands in his hands, "How dare you, kid, be disrespectful to your father? You were just trying to protect yourself."
"Father, if you have anything to say, why don't you and I have to fight each other with swords?"
Ma Teng scolded, "I have nothing to say to you Wicked Son! You are an unfaithful, unfilial and unkind person, and you have insulted my Ma Family family style!"
"Why don't you die to apologize!"
He is really disgusted with Ma Chao now. If he couldn't beat him, he would definitely kill this beast with his own hands.
"General Ma, please be patient."
Cui Lin, who had been watching with cold eyes, felt a little regretful when he saw that the two sides could no longer fight. Then he stood up and smoothed things over and said, "We are here with Son of Heaven's will. There may be some misunderstanding between you and Imperial Court."
"Let's sit down and talk."
After hearing this, Ma Teng suppressed the anger in his heart, strode back to his seat, and sat down heavily.
Ma Chao also found a seat to sit down, but he was three or four feet away from Ma Teng, just to avoid him suddenly starting to attack again.
After ordering his subordinates to clean up the mess in the Main Hall, Ma Chao took the initiative and asked, "Isn't my father imprisoned in Ye City by the two thieves Lü Bu and Yuan Xi? Why did he suddenly return to Chang'an?"
"Fuck your mother!"
When Ma Teng heard this, his anger rose instantly, and he cursed without hesitation, "I have been serving Son of Heaven at Ye City, when did I get imprisoned by Duke Wen?"
"You still have the nerve to ask me why I came back to Chang'an. If I don't come back, you Wicked Son will rebel!"
"You are so brave to rebel and conspire!"
Ma Teng didn't follow Ma Chao in making excuses. When he came up, he took off his underwear and spoke clearly.
Ma Chao's face changed slightly, and he pretended to be Shock: "When did I rebel and rebel? Where did my father hear the rumor?"
"I only know that Son of Heaven is being held hostage by Lü Bu and Yuan Xi, and his father is imprisoned by them, so I want to send troops to rescue Son of Heaven and his father from the fire and water!"
"Father really misunderstood the child!"
As soon as these words came out, Cui Lin lost his composure and said with narrowed eyes, "General, this is nonsense. Duke Wen and Yuan Minister of Works are Loyal Minister of Great Han. How could they be Holding the Son of Heaven Hostage?"
"The general must have misheard the rumor somewhere."
Since it is Offer Surrender Terms, as the representative of Imperial Court, he certainly cannot officially characterize Ma Chao as a rebel and rebellious minister.
So he gave Ma Chao a step down.