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

Chapter 237 Ma Chao vs. Zhang Fei: From Generations of Nobles to a Rustic Commoner (4th Update)
As the saying goes, the world is bustling with activity, all for the sake of profit.

As long as one is human, whether one is a king, general, warlord, bandit, high-ranking official, nobleman, or commoner, no one will get up early without a reason.

After learning about the huge profits from reselling Shu brocade in Shu and the Central Plains, Ma Chao's mind began to stir.

Resell to the Central Plains and gain the cooperation of influential people there.

Currently, Ma Chao can only contact three factions within the Central Plains: Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Liu Bei.

Cao Cao wanted nothing more than to devour the Ma family of Fufeng, so cooperation was absolutely out of the question. Although Yuan Shao was slightly better than Cao Cao, powerful families like the Yuan family had always looked down on border warriors. This was one of the reasons why Fu Gan was able to persuade Ma Teng to side with Cao Cao after intimidating him.

As for Liu Bei, he was also a border warrior, and there was not much difference in their social status.

Most importantly, both Ma Chao and Liu Bei were short of money. Only when two people who were short of money were together could they be more proactive in making money.

However, Ma Chao would not immediately seek cooperation with Liu Bei.

Begging Liu Bei for cooperation is not Ma Chao's style. If he wants to cooperate, he should first beat Liu Bei up and decide who will take the lead.

You can only take what I'm willing to give; you can't take what I'm not willing to give.

On Liu Bei's side, the same idea was shared.

The highly profitable business of reselling Shu brocade cannot be negotiated; it ultimately requires a fight to determine who takes the lion's share and whether the other party is qualified to cooperate.

the other side.

Su Shuang returned to his village and reported the gift-giving to Liu Bei, as well as conveying the message Sun Zi wanted to deliver.

“With Yanlong around, it shouldn’t be difficult to pique Ma Chao’s interest in the profits from reselling Shu brocade.” Liu Bei nodded slightly, then pondered for a while the message Sun Zi had sent back via Su Shuang, and said, “Ma Teng and Han Sui only sent their sons as hostages, but Yan Xing sent his parents to Xuchang as well. It seems that Han Sui’s son-in-law is not of one mind with Han Sui.”

Pang Tong chuckled and said, "Han Sui's decision to have Yan Xing as his son-in-law was merely a means of winning him over. However, Han Sui is fickle and only cares about interests, not family ties. Ma Teng became sworn brothers with him, yet Han Sui still fought against Ma Teng. To Han Sui, a son-in-law is not a son; he will discard him like a worn-out broom when he is no longer useful."

There was a pause.

Pang Tong then said, "Yan Xing's parents are being held hostage in Xudu, and they will surely be loyal to Cao Cao. To prevent Yan Xing from plotting against Cao Cao, we can try to sow discord between them and have Han Sui eliminate him."

Liu Bei hesitated for a moment, then said, "Han Sui is fickle and treacherous, but Yan Xing may not be so. Let's put this plan aside for now and discuss it again after I meet with Yan Xing."

Seeing that Liu Bei was unwilling, Pang Tong did not bring it up again.

Like Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong was also a man of discretion and would not be dissatisfied with Liu Bei just because Liu Bei did not listen to his strategies.

Strategies also have priorities; eliminating Yan Xing is not the most urgent or important task at present.

The most urgent and important thing right now is still tomorrow's rematch with Ma Chao.

In order to be well-rested for the battle against Ma Chao, Zhang Fei ate and drank his fill and went to bed early today.

Yan Liang and Wen Chou, fighting two against one, will naturally be able to handle the situation with ease; Zhang Fei, on the other hand, will have to fight Ma Chao alone tomorrow, so we cannot underestimate him.

Although Zhang Fei verbally expressed his dissatisfaction and claimed he would teach Ma Chao a lesson, he did not dare to underestimate him in his heart.

The same applies to Ma Chao, who was facing the enemy camp.

After fighting Yan Liang and Wen Chou, Ma Chao was not to be underestimated. In particular, Ma Chao was thinking that if he won tomorrow, he could take the lead in the future resale cooperation of Shu brocade. Therefore, he ate and drank his fill and went to bed early.

Since both sides set up camp on the spot, the distance between them was only a few hundred steps.

therefore.

The next morning, Ma Chao led his cavalry out to swagger in front of Liu Bei's camp.

"Brother, I'm going out to fight Ma Chao right now." Zhang Fei was wearing armor and his eighteen-foot spear was polished to a gleaming shine.

Liu Bei turned to look at Guan Yu, his eyes questioning.

Guan Yu nodded and said, "Brother, rest assured, Third Brother is more than capable of contending with Ma Chao."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei felt a surge of resentment: "Why are you encouraging others, elder brother?"

Liu Bei smiled and reassured him, "I am well aware of Yide's bravery, but when two tigers fight, even if one wins, the other will be injured. I don't want to see Yide get hurt."

Feeling Liu Bei's concern, Zhang Fei immediately beamed with joy: "Brother, don't worry, I will definitely not let you down!"

With Liu Bei's permission, Zhang Fei mounted his horse, spear in hand, and galloped out, while Liu Bei led Guan Yu, Huang Zhong, and others out of the camp to hold them off.

"Ma Chao, you little brat, do you recognize Zhang Yide of Yan?" Zhang Fei shouted, brandishing his eighteen-foot spear. His black horse, Wuzhui, also stuck out its tongue in a defiant manner.

Although Ma Chao had heard of Zhang Fei's name, his impression of Zhang Fei was not as deep as that of Yan Liang and Wen Chou. When Zhang Fei addressed him as "little brat," Ma Chao was furious and retorted with a cold snort: "My family has been nobles for generations. How could I possibly know a mere country bumpkin?"

If it were someone else, they wouldn't care too much about Ma Chao's opposition. After all, on the battlefield, it's normal for me to curse you and you to curse me back.

But Zhang Fei was different. Zhang Fei's nature was to look down on petty people and respect scholars, and he also liked to pretend to be cultured.

In other words, Zhang Fei was actually very self-conscious about his background and was eager to make a name for himself.

This is one of the reasons why Zhang Fei broke with his clan elders and abandoned his family business to follow Liu Bei when he was a teenager.

Therefore, when Ma Chao sneered, "My family has been nobles for generations, how could I possibly know a mere country bumpkin?" he directly broke Zhang Fei's composure.

"You audacious madman! Fight me!" Zhang Fei's eyes widened in anger. He swung his spear and spurred his horse to create distance for the charge. Then, his black steed, Wuzhui, shot out like a black lightning bolt.

Ma Chao was not to be outdone, his flying sand swirling like a silver dragon, and the two riders were instantly entangled in one place!
Zhang Fei's arms were bulging with muscles, and his spear moved with the force of wind and thunder. Ma Chao's spear moved like a dragon, his points, thrusts, and jabs were exquisite and ruthless, and he especially targeted the throat and heart.

In a short while, they had already fought more than ten rounds. The sound of spears clashing and the two men's shouts of killing made the eardrums of the soldiers in the front row ache.

This isn't a fight; it's more like two fierce tigers vying for supremacy.

Amidst the billowing dust, the two riders were now locked in a fierce battle.

Yan Liang and Wen Chou exchanged a glance, both showing shock at Ma Chao's ferocity today.

Although Ma Chao fought two opponents yesterday, he did not dismount throughout the entire battle, focusing his strength and skill in mounted combat on Yan Liang and Wen Chou.

Today, Ma Chao was even more ferocious than yesterday, fighting Zhang Fei from horseback to the ground, and finally wrestling with him bare-handed.

They fought for a while.

Ma Chao snatched Zhang Fei's headscarf, and Zhang Fei snatched Ma Chao's helmet. Almost simultaneously, the two turned around to look for their weapons.

Seeing Ma Chao's disheveled appearance, Zhang Fei couldn't help but laugh, lifted Ma Chao's helmet and shouted, "Ma Chao, you little brat, here's your head!"

Not to be outdone, Ma Chao grabbed Zhang Fei's turban and shouted, "Zhang Fei, you scoundrel, your head is right here!"

　Update 4 is here!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)