Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 198 Ma Teng: The bindings are too tight, loosen them a little!
Guan Yu broke his promise.

He said he would take Ma Teng's head, but Ma Teng, who was of mixed Han and Qiang descent, was poor but highly respected by the local Qiang and Hu people, so he received financial assistance and was skilled in riding and archery.

The cold moonlight illuminated the tip of the spear, and Guan Yu's phoenix eyes suddenly narrowed.

Just as the cold glint was about to strike, Ma Teng leaned his body to the right like a poplar tree facing the wind, until his upper body was almost parallel to the ground. Only then did he narrowly dodge Guan Yu's dagger thrust, avoiding being pierced through the body.

But if Ma Teng was skilled in martial arts and archery, then Guan Yu would be a match for ten thousand men!
The moment the spear missed its mark, Guan Yu flicked his wrist, and the bulging muscles on his arm suddenly bulged. The eighteen-foot spear shaft hummed and trembled in his palm as he used astonishing arm strength to retract the force of the thrust and change it into a vertical slash.

Ma Teng, whose center of gravity had already shifted significantly in order to dodge the spear, had not even had time to straighten up before the spear shaft came hurtling towards him with a tearing sound, striking his breastplate.

With a crisp clang as the metal plate dented, a metallic taste rose in Ma Teng's throat. He was struck off his horse by a spear and fell to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

While weapons like the lance can be used for slashing with the blade, striking with the shaft is more effective against armored enemies.

The spear shaft slammed heavily into his body, and even though he was wearing iron armor, he was still knocked to the ground and coughed up blood.

Guan Yu reined in his spear and looked down at Ma Teng, who was curled up on the ground. A few strands of his hair were stuck to the corner of his mouth, which was bleeding. Ma Teng struggled to get up.

However, as soon as he made a move, one of Guan Yu's Changshui cavalry guards rushed forward and stomped hard on his back, causing him to groan in pain and his facial features to contort.

The other Changshui cavalry guards skillfully bound Ma Teng with ropes. Fearing that Ma Teng might be too strong to break free, they even wrapped the ropes around him several more times, each time tightening them so that Ma Teng's veins bulged.

"Hmph, you coward."

Guan Yu's eyes were like those of a phoenix, filled with murderous intent, but in the end, he closed his eyes slightly and did not strike Ma Teng again.

Releasing Ma Teng was naturally impossible, but since he had been captured alive, his life would be left to his elder brother to decide.

Whether as the elder brother or as the commander-in-chief of the army, it was Liu Bei's right to deal with prisoners.

Even among brothers, certain boundaries must be maintained. If people lose their sense of propriety and repeatedly cross the line, even the closest friendship will develop cracks.

On the battlefield, without Ma Teng's flanking maneuvers and command, the eight hundred Qiang cavalrymen were like headless flies.

On the other hand, Guan Yu's troops, seeing their commander capture the enemy general, were greatly encouraged. Under Guan Yu's command, they quickly formed ranks and launched a counterattack, encircling and killing most of the Qiang cavalry who had come to raid them at night.

Only two officers were captured, while more than ten Qiang cavalrymen escaped back to the city with Guan Yu's deliberate leniency.

Before long, Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, Fu Xie and others arrived, and Guan Yu had already roughly taken stock of the battle losses.

The Qiang cavalry's night raid was too sudden, and Guan Yu was soaking his feet in Liu Bei's camp with them. Without Guan Yu as the backbone of the army to command, apart from the five hundred naval cavalry who were able to remain calm, the rest of the soldiers panicked when they encountered the surprise attack.

However, there was nothing that could be done. No matter how good the men from the Sanfu region were, they could not compare to the elite Changshui cavalry, let alone the remaining two thousand or so auxiliary soldiers.

Some of the auxiliary troops stationed on the outermost perimeter even broke down, impacting the defensive line built by the Liangjiazi of the Three Auxiliary Regions behind them.

In the end, 37 Changshui cavalrymen died in battle, 118 good families from the Three Auxiliary Regions died in battle, 739 auxiliary soldiers died in battle, and there were still several hundred wounded.

The deaths of over a hundred auxiliary soldiers were caused by panic and trampling among themselves after the night attack.

What was most infuriating was that the auxiliary troops charged into the battle formation formed by the Changshui cavalry and the good families of the three counties, which led to Ma Teng breaking into the formation and slaughtering them.

Perhaps from Ma Teng's perspective, his all-day ambush, taking advantage of the army's fatigue and relaxed vigilance to launch a night attack, resulted in the near annihilation of eight hundred Qiang cavalry, yet only these losses were incurred—it seemed far too unworthy.

In the eyes of Liu Bei, Guan Yu and others, Ma Teng's night raid was like a slap in the face. The loss of nearly nine hundred of their men and the injury of several hundred others at the cost of eight hundred of their own was an utter disgrace.

The only good news is that Shi Ren did not die after being stabbed off his horse, but his injuries were serious and he needed to recuperate for some time.

Liu Bei's knuckles were white as he gripped the whip, the tip still trembling slightly. Looking at Ma Teng, whose mouth was bleeding, whose hair was disheveled, and who was bound by ropes, his eyes were filled with rage and disgust. This was his first battle leading troops alone, yet this man had smeared his otherwise perfect record.

This splash of ink blurred most of the questions, meaning that even if he could answer all the remaining questions correctly, he would only get a passing grade at best.

Fu Xie sighed. He had indeed considered the possibility of a night attack by the rebels in the city, so he patrolled the camp a little longer tonight.

But luck was not on his side. It was because he spent a little more time patrolling the front camp that he did not go to patrol the left camp at the scheduled time. Otherwise, this night raid would not have resulted in the deaths of nearly nine hundred of them.

After interrogating the two Qiang officers, and combining the statements of the Youfufeng people from the good families of the Three Auxiliary Regions, it was confirmed that the rebel commander was none other than Ma Teng of the Fufeng Ma Clan, who was well-known in Youfufeng.

However, Ma Teng was not too worried about his life. Generally speaking, now that he knew Ma Teng's identity as the successor of General Fubo, the procedure was to recruit him back to the kingship. Ma Teng was grateful and willing to die for him.

At least he saw that most of the Han people from Liangzhou obtained official positions through the same process, so he should receive some preferential treatment when it was his turn, right?

For example, the ropes binding his body are tied far too tightly.

"The bindings are too tight; loosen them slightly."

However, Liu Bei had no intention of paying him any attention, his eyes blazing with anger.

"A descendant of the Ma clan of Fufeng? You are a descendant of General Fubo, and have received the emperor's favor. How dare you betray the Han and aid the traitors!"

Upon learning of Ma Teng's background, Liu Bei became even more furious. The General Fubo was none other than Ma Yuan, the founding general of the Later Han Dynasty who left behind the famous tales of "dying on the battlefield" and "the collapse of the bronze pillar and the destruction of Jiaozhi".

Isn't it just a minor side branch?

Isn't it just that the family is too poor to support itself?

Your father served as the county magistrate of Langgan County in Tianshui Prefecture, while my father was just a minor official in Youzhou.

You have gathered hundreds of Qiang people around you, and I have gathered hundreds of young heroes around me. In the end, what is the difference between my background as Liu Bei and yours as Ma Shoucheng?
I could choose to serve the court, but you chose to betray it.

I am from Youzhou, while you are from Youfufeng and not from Liangzhou, which has no way to get promoted. What reason do you have to rebel against the court?
"Take him out and behead him."

Without any hesitation, Liu Bei immediately gave the order.

Ma Teng was stunned. Didn't you say you wouldn't accept their surrender?

I, Ma Teng, have some prestige among the Qiang and Hu people. You can easily persuade me to surrender with just a few words. Wouldn't it be great if I became your guide?

In fact, Ma Teng saw it very clearly: although the Qiang and Hu rebellions were powerful, when had a Qiang and Hu rebellion not been powerful, and when had it not been quelled by the imperial court?
His participation in the rebels was simply a way to showcase his talents, raise his own value, and make the Han army believe he was worth recruiting so he could eventually obtain an official position.

Why did they just kill us without saying anything?

But just after Liu Bei gave the order, Zuo Fengyi Song Xiao stopped the soldiers who were holding Ma Teng and said solemnly, "Lieutenant Liu, I have something to say."

(2473 words)
PS: Historically, Ma Teng was not a loyal minister, but an opportunist who seized power in one region. He joined the Han army in the early days to quell the Qiang rebellion and was appointed as a military commander. Later, he was promoted to lieutenant general for his merits. Then, seeing the strength of the rebel army, he raised an army to rebel against the Han Dynasty.

People from Liangzhou had no room for advancement and were ostracized by the various states in the Central Plains. However, Ma Teng was of mixed Han and non-Han descent, but he was not excluded because of his status as a descendant of Ma Yuan. Moreover, he was from Youfufeng, otherwise he would not have been able to be promoted to Lieutenant General for his merits.

Then Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang, and Ma Teng attached himself to Dong Zhuo. After Dong Zhuo's death, he joined Li Jue and Guo Si, and was appointed General Who Conquers the West, stationed in Mei County.

Ultimately, the conflict erupted when Li Jue refused to help because of a personal matter. They rejected Liu Xie's mediation and fought a major battle.

(End of this chapter)