The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 236 Liu Bei Uses Delaying Tactics Again, Ma Chao's Eyes Light Up at the Smoke of Shu Brocade (3rd Update)
Liu Bei stopped Zhang Fei and chuckled, saying, "Ma Chao has just fought with Generals Yan and Wen and is greatly weakened. If you go into battle now, wouldn't that be bullying him? I will go into battle and challenge Ma Chao to a duel. We can both set up camp here today and fight again tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow?" Zhang Fei was puzzled.

Pang Tong smiled and reminded him, "General Zhang, just challenge us to a duel. I and the general have our reasons."

Although he didn't understand Liu Bei and Pang Tong's intentions, Zhang Fei didn't ask any further questions.

Liu Bei then rode out into the fray, cupped his hands in greeting to Ma Chao, and said, "People say Ma Chao is as handsome as brocade, and indeed he is as handsome as brocade, his reputation is well-deserved. I am Liu Bei, greetings."

When Ma Chao saw Liu Bei come out to fight, he thought Liu Bei had come to kill him. He was annoyed that Liu Bei was shamelessly using a strategy of attrition, but when he heard Liu Bei praising him as soon as they met, he was at a loss for words.

Although Ma Chao was known for his bravery in the Guanzhong and Xiliang areas, he was also known for his violent personality due to his Qiang customs, so few people would praise him for any merits other than bravery.

Although Liu Bei also used "Jin Ma Chao" in his challenge, Ma Chao was only annoyed by the phrase "I am very suspicious, do you dare to fight me?" When he heard the phrase "Jin Ma Chao" again and the phrase "indeed handsome as brocade", Ma Chao couldn't help but feel a sense of goodwill towards Liu Bei.

Ma Chao returned the greeting and said, "Now that you know my name, why don't you withdraw your troops?"

Liu Bei sighed and said, "I am ordered by the General to lead troops into Hedong, and you are also ordered by the Commandant of the Capital Region to lead troops into Hedong. We are both just following orders, so why make things difficult for each other?"

This sigh resonated with Ma Chao, who immediately felt a sense of agreement.

Ma Chao was content to stay in Guanzhong, but instead he had to go to the Fen River to fight Liu Bei. Deep down, he was unwilling.

The one who benefited from fighting Liu Bei was Cao Cao, not the Ma family of Fufeng.

However, Fu Gan threatened Ma Teng, saying that Ma Teng had sent his son to Xudu but was not willing to do his best and was just sitting and watching the outcome, which would surely be blamed by Cao Cao in the future; he also cited the example of Ren An, who was killed by Emperor Wu of Han for sitting and watching the outcome, which frightened Ma Teng into hastily sending troops.

Thinking of this, Ma Chao felt a surge of irritation and asked, "If you're not going to retreat, do you intend to fight me? I'm not afraid of you!"

Liu Bei smiled again: "We are both under military orders and have encountered many obstacles. If we don't fight, we may not be able to explain ourselves. However, you fought two generals, Yan and Wen, today and your strength is greatly depleted. If I were to fight back, it would be dishonorable for me to win. How about we set up camp here today and fight again tomorrow?"

After considering it for a while, Ma Chao accepted Liu Bei's challenge: "Very well! We'll fight again tomorrow."

Seeing Ma Chao riding back to his camp, Liu Bei's desire to recruit him grew even stronger.

Upon returning to his camp, Ma Chao immediately ordered them to set up camp on the spot, preparing to continue fighting Liu Bei the next day.

Poundton was puzzled: "Why set up camp here? All's fair in war. If we don't return to our own camp, we might fall into Liu Bei's trap."

Ma Chao looked at Pang De in surprise: "Lingming, when did you start studying military strategy?"

Pound pointed back at Sun Zi and roughly recounted Sun Zi's calculations.

Ma Chao felt a chill run down his spine.

Ma Chao originally appointed Sun Zi as his strategist simply because Sun Zi was a pleasant-speaking man and did not look down on border warriors. He did not really expect Sun Zi, a scholar, to know much about military affairs.

I never expected Sun Zi to be so good at predicting things!

"Since the strategist can foresee Liu Bei's intentions in challenging me to a duel today, can he possibly guess why Liu Bei wants to fight again on the same day?" Ma Chao asked in a deep voice.

Sun Zi glanced around, shook his head, and remained silent.

Ma Chao understood, so he first ordered his soldiers to set up camp on the spot, and then summoned Sun Zi to the temporary tent to ask him the reason.

Inside the main tent, Sun Zi inquired about the specifics of Liu Bei's conversation with Ma Chao, to which Ma Chao truthfully recounted the events. Upon hearing this, Sun Zi quickly organized the available intelligence and said, "Judging from this, Liu Bei is unwilling to fight you, General. He deliberately provoked you to engage in battle today, merely to put on a show for Yuan Shao. General, you might as well remain calm and observe Liu Bei's reaction. However, to prevent Liu Bei from using deception, you should send additional men to patrol the various camps tonight."

Ma Chao shared Sun Zi's analysis: "Just as the strategist said, I will let Lingming be in charge of patrolling the camp."

As they were talking...

A messenger reported that Liu Bei had sent an envoy with gifts.

"Sending envoys with gifts?"

Ma Chao was taken aback, then looked at Sun Zi, and then ordered someone to invite the envoy into the main tent.

The messenger entered, put down the small wooden box he was carrying, and presented the letter, saying, "General Zuo has a letter here."

The letter contained only one sentence: "I have come across a piece of Shu brocade; I hope you will accept it with a smile."

Ma Chao sat up in surprise and hurriedly opened the small wooden box, where he found Shu brocade inside.

"General Zuo is very kind." Ma Chao stroked the Shu brocade, admiring it, and then ordered wine to be served.

Sun Zi then approached Ma Chao and whispered a few words to him. With Ma Chao's permission, he then escorted the messenger out of the camp.

Seeing that no one was following him, Sun Zi lowered his voice and asked, "Attendant Su, does General Zuo have any orders?"

The messenger was none other than Su Shuang, Liu Bei's Attendant Gentleman.

Su Shuang glanced around and said, "General Zuo didn't give any instructions, he just sent me to deliver a gift to General Ma. If Mr. Sun has anything to say, I can pass it on."

Sun Zi whispered, “Two pieces of news: Ma Chao’s mother died under Han Sui’s general; Yan Xing, Han Sui’s son-in-law who came to Pi’s place with Ma Chao, had his parents and Han Sui’s son sent to Xudu as hostages.”

"I will convey the message truthfully," Su Shuang nodded in response.

After asking some questions, Sun Zi saw Su Shuang out of the camp and then returned to Ma Chao and said, "Just now I tested Liu Bei's envoy. The envoy was a merchant. He heard that Shu brocade is quite popular in the Central Plains. Some people even offer 10,000 coins just to buy a piece of Shu brocade."

"Huh? Ten thousand coins a bolt of horse?" Ma Chao's breathing quickened instantly: "Is this true?"

"In my estimation, there probably won't be many people willing to spend ten thousand coins, but there are certainly plenty who would be willing to spend several thousand coins for a single bolt of Shu brocade." Sun Zi lifted the tent flap again to look outside, then turned back and lowered his voice: "Right now, Minister Cao has dispatched special officials to supervise the salt administration, taking back the profits from salt trading to the imperial court. The generals in Guanzhong are suffering financial losses. With this shift in power, Minister Cao can dismantle the generals in Guanzhong without firing a single shot. I am worried about your future, General. If we could use Guanzhong as a hub to sell Shu brocade from Sichuan to the Central Plains, the profits would far exceed those from salt trading! General, are you interested?"

As Ma Teng's son, Ma Chao was all too familiar with the situation of the generals in Guanzhong.

As the influence of the Xudu court continued to penetrate into Guanzhong, the lives of the generals in Guanzhong became increasingly difficult.

The reason why Ma Teng and Han Sui were willing to send their sons as hostages was not because they were particularly loyal to the court, but simply because they were living in Guanzhong and dared not offend Cao Cao.

If Guanzhong truly had abundant resources, given Ma Teng and Han Sui's character, they would never have sent their sons as hostages.

Seeing that Sun Zi had already thought of negotiating with the Central Plains about opening up the Shu brocade trade simply because Liu Bei's envoy had brought it, Ma Chao was even more impressed: "The strategist's strategy is indeed extraordinary. Let's wait until tomorrow when I defeat Liu Bei and then offer him a generous reward. He should be very happy to resell the Shu brocade for me."

　Chapter 3 is here! Please vote with your monthly tickets!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)