mtl008 Chapter 705 Resting in Peace is Still Too Close to the Han Dynasty
Chapter 705 Resting in Peace is Still Too Close to the Han Dynasty
With Ma Chao's order, all the men of the Marquina family were slaughtered, leaving only a house full of women.
The poor Marquinha family went to hell without even knowing who killed them.
Ignoring the corpses filling the room, Ma Chao's sharp gaze swept over the women and children in the hall one by one. Finally, he pointed to a woman who looked to be about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old and said, "Pan Zhizhong, this woman is quite pretty, so I'll give her to you. The rest of you can take back to your delegation. You've had a long and tiring journey, so it's time to relax and enjoy yourselves."
Pan Jun was no saint either, so he didn't refuse but instead said with a smile, "Then thank you very much, General of the Cavalry."
The rest was simple: all the women were taken away, the corpses were quickly disposed of, and then Pan Jun summoned his retainers, brought out the pots and pans he carried with him, and had them prepare a delicious Han Dynasty meal for Ma Chao as he slaughtered the forest.
Pan Jun came from Jiangnan and had been in contact with Guan Xing, so he had learned some cooking skills. His meals were much better than those of Ma Chao during the massacre of the forest.
Soon the food was served. Ma Chao ate the delicacies of the Han Dynasty and drank the fine wine of the Ma'erjiana family. He asked curiously, "Pan Zhizhong, can you tell me about what happened after I left the Han Dynasty and why you came here?"
Pan Jun briefly outlined the timeline of Ma Chao's departure from the Han Dynasty, and sighed, "You already know about the Northern Expedition, so I won't go into details. I'll mainly talk about what happened in Jiangdong. You should know about General Guan Yu's surprise attack on Jianye after his defeat at Xiangfan, right?"
Ma Chao nodded and said, "Of course I know. I heard it was Guan Xing's idea, but I don't think it's a good idea. After all, that's the heartland of Eastern Wu. How can we allow Guan Yu to act recklessly? Have Guan Yu and his son already been besieged and killed by Sun Quan and Lü Meng?"
Pan Jun's appearance only proves that Liu Bei recovered Jingzhou, not that Liu Bei had seized Jiangdong.
To be honest, Ma Chao had doubts about whether the Guan family could gain a foothold in Jiangdong. After all, Jiangdong was a place that the Sun family had managed for three generations, and it was also a place where the gentry were rampant. Neither Sun Quan nor the gentry of Jiangdong would allow the Guan family to act recklessly in Jiangdong.
Therefore, Ma Chao believed that the current situation between Liu Bei and Sun Quan had most likely returned to the state it was when the Xiang River was used to demarcate the border.
Pan Jun smiled bitterly and said, "General of the Cavalry, you are mistaken. If the Guan family father and son were really surrounded and killed by Sun Quan and Lü Meng, how could I possibly be here?"
"Guan Yu was alright, but that Guan Xing was simply a monster. He single-handedly overthrew the entire Eastern Wu. Some people revered him as the Little Han Xin, while others called him the Huo Qubing of our time. Here's what happened..."
Pan Jun began to recount Guan Xing's glorious achievements in Jiangdong in detail, which caused Ma Chao and Tu Lin's expressions to change several times.
Ma Chao originally didn't take Guan Xing seriously. "I don't even care about your father, so who do you think you are, you little brat?"
The more Ma Chao listened, the more shocked he became, and the more serious his expression became. Finally, he said incredulously, "Did I hear that right? You said that Guan Xing not only captured Zhang Cheng twice with several thousand hastily recruited rabble, but also forced Han Dang to his death, shot and killed Xu Sheng, beheaded Pan Zhang, captured Zhuge Jin alive, annihilated Lu Xun's 50,000-strong army that was conquering Wu in the east, and then made a thousand-mile raid on Jiangling to kill Yu Jin?"
Are you telling me a myth?
Han Dang, Xu Sheng, Pan Zhang, Zhuge Jin, Lu Xun, Yu Jin—which of these people wasn't a renowned figure? Ma Chao himself was not sure he could win against such a lineup. But Guan Xing did just that, killing and capturing them all in one fell swoop, without even sending out a messenger.
Pan Zhang smiled wryly and said, "That's why he's called the 'Little Han Xin of our time.' Because of him, Your Majesty was able to destroy Eastern Wu, unify Jiangnan, and begin the confrontation between the north and south with Cao Cao."
Ma Chao's head was buzzing and he was completely stunned. The news was too shocking, and he needed time to process it.
Pan Jun knew that his words contained too much information and that Ma Chao needed time to absorb it, so he remained silent and waited quietly.
It took Ma Chao a good quarter of an hour to come to his senses. He couldn't help but sigh, "I never thought that Your Majesty had already unified Jiangnan. It seems that the third restoration of the Han Dynasty is inevitable. Tu Lin Chanyu, do you think I made a mistake in coming to Parthia? Wouldn't it have been more promising for me to stay in the Han Dynasty and help Your Majesty restore the Han Dynasty?"
Ma Chao regretted betraying Liu Bei. He ran away, Liu Bei unified the country, and he withdrew his investment, and the company went public. What kind of situation is this?
Ma Chao was talking to himself but waited a long time for Tu Lin's response. He couldn't help but turn his head to look and found that Tu Lin looked like he had lost his soul, his face was blank and his eyes were vacant. He was completely out of his mind and could not hear any external sounds.
Seeing this, Ma Chao swung his wine cup at Tu Lin, knocking him awake before asking, "What are you thinking about?"
Tu Lin said with a look of horror, "The Han Dynasty has produced another Huo Qubing! This is terrifying! General, I think Parthia is still too close to the Han Dynasty. Should we move west again?"
Ma Chao: "..."
You're supposed to be the Xiongnu Chanyu, why are you so afraid of the Han Dynasty?
The Han Dynasty is still tens of thousands of miles away from here, what are you afraid of?
Pan Jun nodded in agreement, saying, "I think it's very necessary, because Guan Xing really wants to attack Parthia."
Ma Chao asked curiously, "What do you mean?"
Pan Jun spread his hands and said, "Because I'm here."
“Back then, Mi Fang, Fu Shiren, and I betrayed Guan Yu, causing him to lose Jingzhou and be defeated at Maicheng. Later, when the King recovered Jingzhou and unified Jiangnan, he was bound to settle scores with us. Given the crimes we committed, it would not be unreasonable to execute nine generations of our families. But what did Guan Xing do?”
"Guan Xing proposed to Your Majesty that Mi Fang and Fu Shiren be appointed as Han envoys for the Eastern Route, to sail south by sea in warships to inspect the small foreign countries such as Funan and Linyi. He also proposed that I and Kuai Qi be appointed as Han envoys for the Southern Route, to travel from the south to the Kushan Empire, then to Parthia, and even to the Roman Empire to survey the terrain. Now you have attacked from the Hexi Corridor..."
“Now Mi Fang and Fu Shiren are coming south by sea, I am coming from the south, and you are coming from the west. The three of you are on three different routes. We need to investigate all of them. After Your Majesty successfully conquers the north and unifies the world, how can you not continue to expand the territory? Don’t forget that Guan Xing is only in his early twenties this year.”
Guan Xing is too young. Even if he rests and recuperates for twenty or thirty years after unifying the world, he will only be the same age as Ma Chao. Ma Chao was able to conquer Parthia. How could Guan Xing, who has the support of the entire Han Dynasty, fall behind?
Ma Chao, with a toothache, said, "That is indeed a problem. May I ask, Pan Zhizhong, what is the King's attitude towards my departure?"
Although Ma Chao was fearless, he still had some reservations about Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, and he also had some affection for his motherland, the Han Dynasty. Therefore, even after arriving in Parthia, he still cared a lot about Liu Bei's attitude towards him.
Pan Jun shook his head and said, "I don't know about that. When I left, His Majesty had not yet received news of your escape."
Ma Chao touched his nose and smiled awkwardly. After thinking for a long time, he said, "Never mind. The king hasn't unified the world yet. By the time he defeats Cao Cao and then attacks again, I'll probably be dead. Why care so much? Just eat and drink as usual."
“However, our capture of Mullah and the annihilation of the entire Marciana clan will definitely attract the attention of the Parthian Empire and the Sassanid family. You come from the Kushan Empire and know more about the Parthian Empire and the Sassanid family than I do. Do you have any good suggestions?”
Pan Jun pondered, "I do have some good news. There's a city called Tambe, a thousand miles southwest of Mulu. It's an important stronghold of the Sassanid family and the front line in their war against the Parthian Empire. On the way here, I heard that the Sassanid family plans to launch an attack on Ctesiphon, the capital of the Parthian Empire, in the spring. Therefore, they have stockpiled a large amount of grain and supplies in Tambe. The grain is enough to supply an army of at least a million for a year. If you can get your hands on all of these grain and supplies, General..."