Chapter 911: Lending a Hand to the Ma Family

Watching Ma Chao leave, Fa Zheng smiled indifferently. He didn’t mind letting Ma Chao see his smile because everything he said was the truth. He also wasn't afraid of Ma Chao confronting Cao Cao, as certain things were almost inevitable.

The Qiang people’s recklessness, in this current situation, meant that any warlord who took control of Yong and Liang provinces would have to suppress them.

For the group of barbarians who believed they could take advantage of the internal strife in the Central Plains, it was nothing short of a tragedy. The chaos in the Central Plains hadn’t weakened its core strength. As Yuan Shao had once said, the battles between the strong only forged more formidable rulers through repeated clashes.

The Central Plains had become a furnace for these powerful figures. After countless lives had been sacrificed, the strength of the land had now exceeded that of the reigns of Emperor Ling and Emperor Huan, moving toward the peak prosperity of the Han Dynasty once again.

This is the so-called "getting stronger through war." By now, the elite forces of every warlord were strong enough to easily crush the Emperor’s guards from the era of Emperor Huan. Yet, the recently recovering Qiang still didn’t know when to retreat, foolishly thinking they could blockade Liang Province and occupy the Three Prefectures.

Frankly speaking, Fa Zheng found it laughable. If there ever was a perfect example of short-sighted fools, this was it. Despite a million lives lost during the turmoil, the Han’s core population still stood strong at about fifty million.

Anyone who was aware of the situation knew it was easier to crush resistance than to appease it. Except for the Ma family, whose strength had surged, everyone understood why Li Jue wiped out tens of thousands of Qiang tribes before leaving. It was to show Cao Cao the reality of the situation.

With two or three million Qiang under their command, the sheer number was intimidating enough to warrant caution from Cao Cao. But after Li Jue had severely crippled over a dozen Qiang tribes and even attacked more of them, he was still able to withdraw safely and leave for the Western Regions as a frontier commander.

After Li Jue’s departure, the Qiang had immediately started to challenge Cao Cao’s authority, attempting to reclaim their former territories. Even a fool could see that the Qiang were nothing but trouble. Cao Cao had also learned what it meant to command submission through strength.

What would happen next was clear: either Cao Cao would assert his dominance, treating the Qiang like slaves as the Xiliang army once did, or he would back down, allowing the Qiang to invade Han territory as they had during Emperor Huan’s reign.

As for the Ma family, even Li Jue had said that if the Ma family were eliminated, the Qiang in Fufeng would turn against the Xiliang army. This meant the Ma family’s actual influence over the Qiang only extended to Fufeng. Beyond that, their authority was merely symbolic.

The Qiang obeyed the strong, not the Ma family. The current Ma family was not the same as during Ma Chao’s peak, when he had crushed all the Qiang warriors at their tribal alliances. Ma Chao had earned the title of "Divine General of Heavenly Might" by shattering their pride, not by being praised.

At present, the Ma family’s hope of gaining the full loyalty of all the Qiang was a pipe dream. Unless they beat the Qiang into submission, they would never earn their respect.

The Qiang who had been crippled by Li Jue were only seeking protection under Ma Teng, not true allegiance. Once they regained their strength, the idea of them continuing to listen to Ma Teng was impossible.

Naturally, Cao Cao would eventually have to fight the Qiang, and Fa Zheng had no doubt that Cao Cao would win. The Qiang were bound to be crushed and scattered throughout Yong Province.

At that point, the Ma family, with its intricate connections to the Qiang and competition for power with Cao Cao, would surely be dealt with by Cao Cao. A "politically correct" Cao Cao would not hesitate to bring them in line.

If the Ma family chose not to get involved, they would fade into irrelevance. Forty years ago, the Ma family’s decline began precisely because they didn’t get involved. But if they did choose to intervene—whether they sided with the Qiang or the Han—they would face defeat either way. Helping the Qiang was a lost cause, and supporting the Han would still mean they couldn’t surpass Cao Cao in influence.

In either case, the Ma family was doomed. With Han Sui’s meager intelligence, there was no way out of this predicament!

Unfortunately, the downfall of the Ma family didn’t serve Liu Bei’s interests, so Fa Zheng planned to give them a helping hand. At the very least, this would sow division between Ma Teng and Cao Cao. Even if Cao Cao eventually swallowed the Ma family whole, Ma Teng would harbor resentment under Cao Cao’s rule.

Though Fa Zheng didn’t see the Ma family as particularly significant, two Inner Qi masters with potential were still worth assisting.

Later, Zhang Fei and Fa Zheng accompanied the so-called "Imperial Guards" and the Emperor’s emissary on their way to Ye City. Based on the route they took, Guo Yuan was already in despair. Despite some minor skirmishes between soldiers on both sides, Zhang Fei and Xiahou Yuan turned a blind eye to them.

Throughout the journey, Ma Chao remained silent. Eventually, as they neared Ye City, he sought out Fa Zheng. Though impulsive, Ma Chao could tell when someone was speaking the truth, and everything Fa Zheng had said rang true. Just as Fa Zheng had bluntly stated, "You’re not even worth deceiving yet," which had infuriated Ma Chao but made things clear.

"You came to find me," Fa Zheng said with a sly smile as he turned to face Ma Chao.

"We have no real enmity between us. At least, I don’t see the point in harboring a grudge over a woman," Ma Chao said seriously. He had already informed Ma Teng of what Fa Zheng had told him, and Ma Teng was now feeling the pressure—trapped, unable to advance or retreat.

"You may not want a grudge with me, but that doesn’t mean I won’t cause you trouble," Fa Zheng said, rolling his eyes. He had expected Ma Chao to approach him, but when Ma Chao did so, Fa Zheng found it a bit dull. Picking on someone who couldn’t fight back wasn’t fun anymore, and the once-powerful Ma family no longer seemed as formidable in his eyes.

"..." Ma Chao’s brow twitched. He wanted to turn and leave, but he knew that for his family to survive, they needed Fa Zheng’s help. Once they returned to Guanzhong, they wouldn’t be able to trust anyone else.

"Alright, I’ll stop teasing you. There’s no real grudge between us, but I don’t want to antagonize the Wang family, so I’ve been targeting you instead. By the way, you’re technically still my enemy in some ways, so I don’t feel guilty about it," Fa Zheng said, causing the veins on Ma Chao’s forehead to throb. Fa Zheng’s words were a blatant admission that he was simply venting his frustrations.

Fa Zheng’s statement was also a subtle hint. Ma Chao didn’t understand it yet, but when he relayed the conversation to Ma Teng, Ma Teng would surely grasp the implications. However, Fa Zheng didn’t really care either way. What mattered was that Ma Teng wouldn’t align himself with Liu Bei just yet. Since that was the case, Fa Zheng saw no reason to hold back.

"Where’s your sense of honor? My Ma family and your lord, Liu Xuande, are both loyal subjects of the Han Dynasty. Why must you target me so specifically?" Ma Chao demanded angrily. He had come to realize that he couldn’t do anything to Fa Zheng, while Fa Zheng had numerous ways to trouble him. In fact, Fa Zheng had been making his life difficult from the very moment they met.

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