At The Beginning of The Game, The Five Tiger Generals Were Intercepted

Ma Teng took the initiative to raise his glass to Liu Zhang, and then drank it down again.

"Delicious food and wine, really a perfect match! Ma Teng would also like to thank General Wei for his hospitality!"

It was indeed beyond Ma Teng's expectation that Liu Zhang could treat him like this.

Judging from Liu Zhang's harsh words before the battle, Ma Teng would only end up being torn to pieces by five horses.

Unexpectedly, not only was there no danger of life, but there was good food and wine every day.

Sometimes Ma Teng has an idea, maybe this kind of life is not bad!

"Brother Shoucheng, before the two armies fought, Liu Zhang had offended me a lot with his words, please forgive me, Brother Shoucheng!"

Ma Teng waved his hands again and again, he really didn't care about these things.

"General Wei is serious! The two armies are at war, fighting to the death, so what's the point of a few bad words from Qu Qu?"

Ma Teng took the initiative to fill Liu Zhang's cup, and the two drank it down again.

If an outsider sees the scene where Liu Zhang and Ma Teng are so harmonious, they will definitely mistakenly think that they are friends for many years.

Who would have thought that not long ago, the two led tens of thousands of troops to put each other to death?

The two looked at each other at the same time, and in the end it was Liu Zhang who introduced the topic first.

"Since Brother Shoucheng was General Fubo's Ma Yuan, why did he choose to join forces with Han Sui in the rebellion? Could it be that Brother Shoucheng really didn't want to help the Han family and restore the glory of our ancestors?"

"Or is it that Brother Shoucheng feels that his morals and talents are shallow and he cannot bring order to the troubled times?"

"Didn't General Wei say that General Fubo and Ma Yuan have nothing to do afterward?"

Ma Teng usually pours wine for Liu Zhang, and usually laughs at himself. He clearly remembered that Liu Zhang used this to mock himself before the battle.

Liu Zhang didn't care, because there was no trace of anger in Ma Teng's tone.

"Brother Shoucheng, in the confrontation between the two armies, we can only use everything! Please forgive me for any offense!"

"General Wei's words are serious, I'm just a joke!"

Liu Zhang's attitude was so good that Ma Teng was really flattered.

"General Wei has both ability and political integrity, who in the world can stand shoulder to shoulder with General Wei? It's just that Ma Teng can't decide many things alone, it can only be said that he can't help himself!"

Ma Teng shook his head helplessly, then drank it all alone.

"Brother Shoucheng was conferred the title of Inspector of Yongzhou by the imperial court, and he has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses under his command. How can he not help himself?"

Now Liu Zhang is really curious. Could it be that there is really something hidden in Liangzhou?

"Hey!"

Ma Teng sighed heavily, his eyes full of helplessness.

"General Wei doesn't know that Liangzhou originally had more than 20 warlords, big and small. Since the death of Bian Zhang and Beigong Boyu, they all obeyed the orders of the Hanyang Kingdom."

"Originally, Wang Guo would become the new leader of Liangzhou. Unexpectedly, Han Sui tasted the sweetness of assassinating Beigong Boyu, and even assassinated Wang Guo, and even Hanyang County was completely annexed by Han Sui."

"Han Sui's backstabbing behavior quickly aroused everyone's disgust, but because of his weak power, some of them chose to attach themselves to him."

"It just so happened that at this time, I married the daughter of the Wuwei Zhou clan, and with the help of the Zhou clan, I soon gained a foothold in Wuwei County. Therefore, many small warlords defected to my command."

"Gradually, in Liangzhou area, Han Sui and I confronted each other."

Liu Zhang couldn't help but wonder, could it be that not all the soldiers under Ma Teng's command were under his control?

However, Ma Teng was able to lead an army of 50,000 to Hanyang, and there seemed to be no problem.

"Brother Shoucheng means that there are many factions under his command?"

Ma Teng nodded slightly, with a hint of admiration in his eyes.

As expected of Liu Zhang, he understood as soon as he said it.

"What General Wei said is right. Because Han Sui often entraps the warlord leaders and annexes their troops, these warlords hate Han Sui very much and wish to get rid of him as soon as possible!"

"It just so happens that my ambitions have swelled because of the surge in my military strength. I always want to eliminate Han Sui and annex Liangzhou completely. This is also the reason why Han Sui and I have frequently caused wars."

Liu Zhang was very grateful. Fortunately, Xun You reminded him that he could have a deeper understanding of Liangzhou's past. According to his previous thinking, he must start to recruit Ma Teng after pacifying Liangzhou.

Looking at Ma Teng's situation now, it seems that it is really possible to persuade him to surrender.

"Brother Shoucheng, could it be that you were still under the control of these warlords before sending out troops?"

After asking this question, Liu Zhang himself felt that it was impossible.

Almost all of Ma Teng's 50,000 troops are under General Ma's command, and there is no command problem at all.

Even after being surrounded in the end, Ma Teng's army fled because they were afraid of death, and they did not flee with their soldiers and horses.

"No, after several battles with Han Sui, the power of these warlords has long been exhausted, and some leaders even died in battle."

"Especially a few years ago at the invitation of Yuan Shao, he and Han Sui raided Yangping Pass, exhausting all these warlords."

Speaking of this, Ma Teng showed a hint of gratitude instead.

"Ma Teng can completely control the state and county, I have to say that he cannot do without the help of General Wei."

Liu Zhang didn't know whether to cry or laugh at this moment. He was glad that he had wiped out tens of thousands of troops in Liangzhou. Unexpectedly, in the end, it helped Ma Teng eliminate dissidents!

Ma Teng is like this, I am afraid that Han Sui will also benefit a lot!

"Brother Shoucheng, since this is the case, why do you still say that you can't help yourself?"

"Have you ever thought about a question, General Wei? I have fought with Han Sui for so long and lost so many soldiers. Why are there still tens of thousands of people on both sides?"

Instead of answering Liu Zhang's question, Ma Teng asked Liu Zhang a question.

This question really made Liu Zhang very confused, even very incomprehensible!

When Liu Zhang was an official in Luoyang, he deliberately checked the population of each prefecture. Before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the population of the 12 counties in Liangzhou was only over 500,000.

It stands to reason that after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Bian Zhang Rebellion, Beigong Boyu Rebellion, Kingdom Rebellion, Ma Teng Rebellion, and Han Sui Rebellion, the population should plummet.

Without a population base, where did Ma Teng and Han Sui get their soldiers?

Liu Zhang has more than five million soldiers and civilians, which is more than ten times that of Liangzhou at its peak, but he dare not consume his troops so recklessly.

"Brother Shoucheng, please clarify!"

"Because the power of the Liangzhou warlords actually covers the entire Guanzhong area. For example, Jing Zhaoyin, Zuo Fengyi, You Fufeng, etc. Many of the small warlords who served before were from Guanzhong, so they were able to recruit troops in Guanzhong."

"After Dong Zhuo, Li Jue, and Guo Si died one after another, tens of thousands of Liangzhou soldiers returned to their homeland. It really added a lot of strength to Han Sui and me!"

Liu Zhang exclaimed, and looked at Ma Teng in disbelief.

"Could it be that those people were the ones who died in the battle?"

Ma Teng nodded, confirming Liu Zhang's conjecture.

"That's right, every battle between Han Sui and I must have killed or injured tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. In fact, none of them are soldiers and horses of our headquarters."

Now Liu Zhang understood that what the two of them squandered was the power of the entire Guanzhong!

(end of this chapter)